Feb. 28, 2008 | Bad circulation caused by obesity almost cost Greg Marsh his leg. Worse than that, though, was the doctor telling the 500-pound North Little Rock resident he would be dead in a year if he didn’t do something.

Since starting the UAMS Program for Weight Loss and Metabolic Control in August 2006, Marsh has lost about 200 pounds and he is aiming to drop 100 more. “I feel great. It’s a total change,” said Marsh, adding that he’s happy to talk about how bad off he was with anyone who asks.

The worst part he said was the lack of sleep. “I had sleep apnea so bad I couldn’t sleep longer than 20 minutes before I’d wake up, so I was constantly tired,” he said.

Greg Marsh of North Little Rock in January 2008.

There also was the asthma and high blood pressure that had him on six different medications. The medicine alone cost him more than it’s costing him to be in the weight loss program, he noted. But now the asthma is gone and he’s no longer on medication. He lost 29 pounds in the first week of the program alone.

When he started exercising, he said he nearly passed out after walking a block. Now he walks two-and-a-half miles six times a week.

He’s able to work longer as a heavy equipment operator where before he was unable to stand for very long.

“It’s hard,” he said when asked what advice he’d give someone thinking about weight loss. “You can’t do it unless you have the mindset that you’re going to do this.

“But you can do this.”